Canadians Are Buying More Coffee from Restaurants As They Return to Their Pre-Pandemic Routines

Coffee servings ordered at restaurants increase year-over-year by 13%

19-Sep-2022 - Canada

As much as Canadians love their coffee, many love others making it for them more. Coffee ordered from restaurants is rebounding as consumers return to worksites, schools, and other outside activities, reports The NPD Group. In the 12 months ending July 2022, more than 2 billion coffee servings were ordered from Canadian restaurants, up 13% from a year ago. However, even with the double-digit increase, restaurant coffee servings are down 15% from three years ago, before the pandemic. Hot specialty coffee, like lattes, had the most substantial growth, up 16%, traditional or regular coffee servings increased by 14%, and servings of iced, frozen, or slushy coffee rose by 7% from a year ago.

The bulk of restaurant coffee servings, 88%, are ordered from quick service restaurants, with quick service donut outlets being the most popular. Total quick service coffee servings grew by 8%, and quick service donut servings increased by 9% year-over-year. Quick service burger restaurants, which follow the donut category in coffee popularity, experienced a 3% gain in coffee servings in the period. Gourmet coffee outlets, which rank third in quick service coffee servings share, increased coffee orders by 7%, says NPD, which recently merged with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI®) to create a leading global technology, analytics and data provider.

Not surprisingly, breakfast is the peak time for quick service coffee orders, and servings were up 17% in the year ending July compared to a year ago. The afternoon snack period is the second most popular daypart for coffee, with servings up 2% in the period. Morning snack, which follows afternoon snack for coffee servings share, realized a 9% increase in coffee servings ordered, according to NPD’s continual tracking of the Canadian foodservice industry.

“As more consumers return to their pre-pandemic routines, foodservice coffee will somewhat recover from the steep declines experienced during the lockdowns,” says Vince Sgabellone, NPD foodservice industry analyst. “Restaurants do face competition from at-home coffee appliances and the coffee-making expertise consumers learned while in lockdown, but their competitive edge is offering the convenience of a great cup of coffee when we’re on the go.”

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